When unloading a round bale out of the baling chamber of a round baler, it is desired to control the movement of the bale. A problem arises, in particular, in the case of round bales which are wrapped with a net or twine and are subject to a highly dynamic unloading operation. During the unloading operation, the round bale, is released from the baling chamber and falls, for example, onto an unloading ramp which is provided with depositing elements which translate the round bale into a controlled rolling movement. Depending on the development and arrangement of the unloading area, the round bale often experiences an extreme change of direction in its movement, in particular in the case of highly dynamic, rapid unloading operations, as take place in the case of heavy-duty, modern round balers. Such a round baler is disclosed, for example, in German Patent Document DE 10 2005 036 181 A1. The unloading operations encumbered with such extreme changes in direction for the round bale lead to extreme stresses on the round bale which often result in damage to the round bale, in particular to tears in the net or in the twine when the round bale falls onto the depositing elements and is to be transferred from an almost vertical unloading movement into a horizontal unloading movement or rolling movement.
In order to counteract these types of damage, it is known, for example, in WELGER round balers, to provide a support element in the form of a roller on an unloading ramp, said roller being mounted by way of springs on the frame or on an unloading ramp in order to absorb part of the movement energy of the round bale. This type of design of a roller mounted on springs works out, however, as structurally expensive, maintenance intensive and susceptible.